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As someone who has dtv and has seen the issue you are talking about I can lend you some guidance. It seems that if hdmi is connected but the tv using hdmi is tuned off when you fire up the hr your screwed trying to watch hdcp content. It seems it knows its connected to a hdmi tv but since the tv is off and it cant confirm hdcp compliance it assumes its not and it seems like it will not adjust that finding till you turn the unit off and then back on again.

I suggest you try this. Turn on the hdmi tv. Then turn on the hr. then turn on the other tvs and see what happens with the hbo content. My guess is it will now work fine and you can even likely turn off the hdmi connected tv at that point as well.

OK - I've had some time to look at this again. Walking up and down three flights of stairs gets old after a while!

It seems having the HDMI-connected TV switched on is the key. It didn't matter if I switched the TV on before the HR, or after the HR. If the HDMI-connected TV was switched on while the HR was showing HBO content, the remote TV's would also show the HBO content. If the HDMI-connected TV was switched off, the content protection message came up on the remote TV's within a few seconds.

At no stage did I get one remote TV showing the content-protected message, and the other showing the programming. I'm not sure how that happened two weeks back - maybe it was early in the morning and I mis-saw things, but at least all the remote TV's showed the same thing at the same time today.

OK - I've had some time to look at this again. Walking up and down three flights of stairs gets old after a while!

It seems having the HDMI-connected TV switched on is the key. It didn't matter if I switched the TV on before the HR, or after the HR. If the HDMI-connected TV was switched on while the HR was showing HBO content, the remote TV's would also show the HBO content. If the HDMI-connected TV was switched off, the content protection message came up on the remote TV's within a few seconds.

At no stage did I get one remote TV showing the content-protected message, and the other showing the programming. I'm not sure how that happened two weeks back - maybe it was early in the morning and I mis-saw things, but at least all the remote TV's showed the same thing at the same time today.

I'm now getting this message when trying to access DirecTV's premium channels:YOU'RE TV DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM'S CONTENT PROTECTION. REPLACING THE TV'S HDMI CABLES WITH COMPONENT CABLES WILL ALLOW YOU TO VIEW THIS PROGRAM.DIRECTV says that this is the premium channels and not DirecTV. The premiums are doing this to prevent illegal recordings. Basically the premiums think that your set is in essence a computer and the older tv's are not equipped to tell the premiums otherwise. DirecTV's answer was for me to either buy a new HDTV or they will send me component cables. HDMI is the most efficient way to view high definition television and I am screwed. I use HDMI cables for entire system. IS THERE A WORK AROUND FOR THIS RIDICULOUS PROBLEM? Am I the only one receiving this message?

I get this message on a second TV I have connected to the DVR via component. I have my primary TV connected via HDMI and it plays the movies fine, but the second TV which uses component from the same DVR can't play movies recorded from the pay channels. Not a huge deal in my situation, but it seems like a waste of resources to put this level of DRM on shows already on the DVR. Update - Just saw the more recent post about turning on the HDMI TV first, will try that. Thanks!

I get this message on a second TV I have connected to the DVR via component. I have my primary TV connected via HDMI and it plays the movies fine, but the second TV which uses component from the same DVR can't play movies recorded from the pay channels. Not a huge deal in my situation, but it seems like a waste of resources to put this level of DRM on shows already on the DVR. Update - Just saw the more recent post about turning on the HDMI TV first, will try that. Thanks!

Did you read my posts? If that both tvs on, it should work. The problem is when your hdmi TV is off, your unit thinks the hdmi is plugged into a non compliant device because it can't handshake. You can get it to work, you just need both tvs on.

I have been down this road before. Ran into the HDCP problem and switch every thing over to HDMI and replaced a non 3d set with one that is 3d so everything talks with each other. We have a system in the back part of home that has 3 led sets on 2 directv dvr's with both HDMI and component cable in the walls. Do not want to replace this so my work around is some component splitters & a Monoprice ID # 5971 HDC-320 YPbPr component + digital audio to hdmi converter and pulling the HDMI off the Directv DVR & using it on the Monoprice converter.
We have HBO and Showtime and just found by checking that this is an HBO deal only. Showtime does not have the HDCP message on it, are they doing it some other way. I would not bother with it but had the converter & splitters form a non hdmi set thats gone down the road. I think what I am trying to asked is Showtime not a premium.

I have been down this road before. Ran into the HDCP problem and switch every thing over to HDMI and replaced a non 3d set with one that is 3d so everything talks with each other. We have a system in the back part of home that has 3 led sets on 2 directv dvr's with both HDMI and component cable in the walls. Do not want to replace this so my work around is some component splitters & a Monoprice ID # 5971 HDC-320 YPbPr component + digital audio to hdmi converter and pulling the HDMI off the Directv DVR & using it on the Monoprice converter.We have HBO and Showtime and just found by checking that this is an HBO deal only. Showtime does not have the HDCP message on it, are they doing it some other way. I would not bother with it but had the converter & splitters form a non hdmi set thats gone down the road. I think what I am trying to asked is Showtime not a premium.

Show time is a premium. The key is what channel. Right now, some channels are hdcp, some are not, and I wouldn't be surprised if someday they all will be.

The movies studios are forcing it upon the Premium channel owners, who are then pushing it onto the channel providers. If Showtime isn't using it yet, I bet they will be within the next few months.

As far as the other channels like USA, FX, ESPN, Bravo, E!, NatGeo, etc, I don't think they will try enforcing it for a few years yet.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

Why is it OK to watch HBO, MAX, and STARZ in real time (HDCP OK) but if I record the exact same show on my DirecTV HR24, I cannot watch it over HDMI (HDCP not OK)? Said another way, if the display is compliant in real time, why is it suddenly non-compliant when the program material is recorded on the DVRs provided by DirecTV?

It seems to me that this is an issue with the DirecTV DVR and how HDCP is implemented on it, not a problem with our cables, HDTVs, receivers, or HDMI switches.

Why is it OK to watch HBO, MAX, and STARZ in real time (HDCP OK) but if I record the exact same show on my DirecTV HR24, I cannot watch it over HDMI (HDCP not OK)? Said another way, if the display is compliant in real time, why is it suddenly non-compliant when the program material is recorded on the DVRs provided by DirecTV?

It seems to me that this is an issue with the DirecTV DVR and how HDCP is implemented on it, not a problem with our cables, HDTVs, receivers, or HDMI switches.

Welcome, and Happy Holidays! Your question is more than fair. Do you have an AVR in the mix? What message are you getting?

Welcome, and Happy Holidays! Your question is more than fair. Do you have an AVR in the mix? What message are you getting?

I'm now getting this message when trying to access DirecTV's premium channels (only when recorded on HR24/500 DVR, no problem watching in real time):YOU'RE TV DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM'S CONTENT PROTECTION. REPLACING THE TV'S HDMI CABLES WITH COMPONENT CABLES WILL ALLOW YOU TO VIEW THIS PROGRAM.

There is an AVR but no HDMI on the AVR (I use a Monoprice HX-501 to switch the HDMI).

While component cabling seems to be what DIRECTV is recommending as a workaround to their serious problem, they aren't a valid long-term solution. IIRC, if the content is protected, DIRECTV (in accordance with their license to use HDMI) is supposed to be blocking the analog outputs (one of two choices). The other choice is down-converting the audio and video and I don't think the hardware is set up to do that.

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. -- JFK

I'm now getting this message when trying to access DirecTV's premium channels (only when recorded on HR24/500 DVR, no problem watching in real time):YOU'RE TV DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM'S CONTENT PROTECTION. REPLACING THE TV'S HDMI CABLES WITH COMPONENT CABLES WILL ALLOW YOU TO VIEW THIS PROGRAM.

There is an AVR but no HDMI on the AVR (I use a Monoprice HX-501 to switch the HDMI).

What is this ? I did not find that number on their site.

If you have a set of Component cables and an HDMI cable hooked up to the TV from the DTV receiver, you will get that message. You can unplug either one of them and it will probably play.

I love Component. I hate HDMI and all the problems it causes. I don't want my TV to talk to my receiver and vice versa, just send the signal and show me the picture.

Be that as it may, it is likely that the promise of HDCP is one of the factors keeping the ARPU under $100. If the content providers believed that there were no protections for their content, I'm convinced that they would be wanting to take bigger bites of the pie.

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. -- JFK